Trophy Boys
by Lildragonbabe
Summary: Amber finds a mysterious box on her doorstep, full of Yu-Gi-Oh 5ds plushies. She decides to share some with fellow 5ds-lover Clare. But soon, Amber and Clare will discover they aren't just plushies-they're the real thing!
1. Chapter 1

**LDB: Hey, this is your author here! I want to thank the people who read my first story, _Sleep and Heartbeats_, and encouraged me to write another! Don't know where to find it? Check my profile, silly! This project is a colaboration with Sister Of The Pharaoh, but she can't be here to comment at the moment. However, I know that we're both really excited to be working on this project! Seriously, check her out, she's a pretty good writer. We'll each be writing for this story, so it'll be interesting to see our different writing styles in the different chapters. Anyways, you probably don't want to here me ramble, so onto the story!**

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><p>Amber stared in consternation at the rather large box sitting on her porch. The brunette's side bangs partially hid her face as she stared out the glass-plated door at the unmarked box sitting innocently on the other side. Inside the kitchen, a backpack and tote bag were lying at her feet, where they had been placed at only seconds before. Soon they would be thrown out. See, today was Amber's last day of school. Ever. Tomorrow was her high school graduation, but in her mind that didn't count—all that mattered was that she had finally graduated from that hell hole.<p>

The almost-high school graduate had forgotten all that at the moment, though, because she was too busy being shocked at the appearance of Mysterious Box A. This is how the last 60 seconds of Amber's life had played: Amber walked up to her box-free door, pulled out her keys, unlocked said door, walked inside, put down her stuff, turned around, and saw the box. After getting over her initial shock, Amber immediately began wondering how it could have gotten there. There wasn't anywhere big enough to hide a person AND the box in question on her porch, and she hadn't heard anyone walking around, so Amber figured that she either missed the box completely, or she was dealing with ninjas.

Amber quickly ruled out the first option. The glass-plated door swung outward, so if she had missed the box, the door would have hit it on her way in. Besides, Mysterious Box A was positioned right in front of the doorway, so she would have to have climbed over the thing to get into her house.

Apparently, Amber was dealing with ninjas.

Well, whoever had put the box in front of her door hadn't thought it out, because she couldn't open the door without hitting it. She decided her best option was to go around and retrieve the box from the porch. She didn't want to risk breaking something.

At the other end of the kitchen was another door, which led to the hallway shared by the three apartments. She quickly trotted down the stairs, which had never been steep enough for her liking, and out the door at the bottom into the driveway. She circled around to the back and on the porch finally confronted Mysterious Box A.

For a moment, a strange thought about ninjas leaving mysterious trap-laden boxes on people's doorsteps crossed Amber's mind, but she quickly pushed the thought away so she could inspect the box. She looked all over the thing, but found no tags specifying an address, or even a name. It was just a perfectly unmarked, cardboard box, sitting on her doorstep. Amber ignored the thoughts of ninja stars flying out the box and gently opened Mysterious Box A.

Amber couldn't believe her eyes when she opened it. Instead of flying ninja stars of death (she scanned the tree tops for signs of men clad in black pajamas), there was a large assortment of anime plushies sitting in it. And not just plushies from any anime—they were Yu-Gi-Oh! 5d's plushies. Eight of them, to be exact. Amber immediately became suspicious—very few people knew of her latest obsession. Of them, only one was really into the show, but Amber knew that if Clare had scored something this huge, she would have immediately said something to Amber. Also, anime plushies were expensive, and she knew that Clare certainly didn't have THAT kind of money to be throwing around.

The girl sighed in defeat. There was no discerning the origins of the box, and the 5ds characters were just too cute to refuse a home.

Amber brought the box into her house, but not before cooing at the cuteness of her cat leaning against the glass, meowing at her. The feline was reminding Amber to feed her, even though they both knew Amber wouldn't feed her for another couple of hours. The porch door swung closed behind her, and she kicked the heavier wooden door closed behind her so she wouldn't have to put down the box.

She was greeted by the cool rush of air and the mewling of a hungry cat begging for food as she brought the box to the living room, setting it down next to the marble coffee table. The characters didn't seem to be stacked in any particular order, so she picked up the one on top and examined it.

It was a Jack Atlas doll. Even though all the plushies were chibized versions of their characters, they were still immaculately detailed. Jack was in his original Duel King outfit, and the jacket could be removed. The clothing was made of the same material her clothes were, instead of the cheap felt typically used these days. The clothing had every detail, the hair was positioned perfectly, and he even had his signature scowl. The only part that wasn't exact was his eyes—they were shiny marbles, like you would see on a teddy bear, except they were the amethyst purple of his real eyes. They reflected the light beautifully, as if made of water. Other than this one slight variation, it looked so close to the real ex-champion that she expected he might start walking around and yell at her in an Australian accent. She giggled at the thought before sitting the Jack plushy on the coffee table.

The next plush she pulled out was Bruno. Like Jack, he was also perfect in every aspect except for those water-marble eyes, which were the same blue-gray as his real eye color. She turned him left and right. As she did so, she got the faintest feeling that those marble eyes were watching her. She shook it off and set Bruno next to Jack, who contemplated her with a good-natured expression.

Now she picked up Leo. His ponytail and hyperactive expression marked him as the male of the twins. Just like the first two, he was perfect except for his yellow water-marble eyes. Amber looked over at Jack and Bruno. She could have sworn they were looking at her, even though Jack wasn't even angled towards her. She told herself she was being paranoid and turned her attention back to Leo. Like the first two, she turned him left and right to examine his features.

She became momentarily distracted by a set of furry paws stepping onto her leg. Tiger the Hungry Kitty had momentarily forgotten her never-ending quest for food in favor of inspecting Leo. She sniffed the doll cautiously for a few moments. Amber sat perfectly still, knowing that the cat would become nervous if she didn't. Tiger soon became entranced with Leo's hanging hair, swatting lightly at it. Amber beamed at the cat as she bobbed the plush up and down to tease her. But Tiger's claws went too high, Leo's face too low, and before Amber knew what had happened the feline's claws had nicked poor Leo's face.

"Shnap!" she cried, pulling the doll out of the unknowing feline's reach. (She didn't like the word 'shit', so she had replaced the word in her vocabulary with 'shnap' and 'shnapples'.) She closely examined the damage; it was a small, clean cut in the soft fabric of his skin, nothing too major. However, Amber despaired at the nick marring the once-perfect Leo plush. She had only gotten the thing, and already it was damaged. She looked glum as she set Leo beside Bruno and began fishing for the next plushie.

It was Carly's turn to be evaluated. She had her signature thick glasses, which were made of real glass and plastic. She could remove them to see her whole face, still with those water-marble eyes. This was really the only plushie Amber was disappointed with; she had always thought that Carly had the prettiest eyes. She also had a little camera accessory around her neck, perfectly suited for a newspaper reporter. The big smile on her face also suited her very well.

Amber replaced Carly's glasses and sat her next to her crush, Jack, before reaching for the next surprise. Amber was delighted to find a Yusei plushie in her hands (she had always been a Yusei fan). Yusei, like Carly, also had an accessory—a duel disk attached to his left arm. He had that serious, determined look that would make any self-respecting fangirl squeal with delight. Amber gently ran her thumb over his left cobalt-colored eye before placing him beside his friends on the table.

The box was starting to feel empty with only three plushies left. Amber looked in and saw Akiza sitting on top, so she grabbed the older female signer and inspected her as well. As always, she was perfect, just like the others. She looked slightly embarrassed as she was placed next to Yusei; Amber had never been a fervent faithshipper, but she did think the pairing was cute.

Second-to-last was the female twin, Luna. Like her brother, she had yellow water-marble eyes. Amber set the pigtailed twin next to her brother, wincing as she once again saw the nick on the plushie's face.

Amber looked down into the box one last time to see her absolute favorite character lying on the bottom, staring back up at her with his signature goofy grin. She smiled back at him as she scooped him out of the now-not-so-Mysterious Box A. Once again, the plushie was perfect in every detail. She traced her fingers over the markers etched into his face, marveling at the craftsmanship even more so than she had with the other seven plushies. Someone had obviously wanted to save the best for last, and Amber was more than happy at her day's turnabout. She grinned from ear to ear as she took all eight plushies and brought them to her bedroom, lying them almost ceremoniously in a line on her bed, where only her favorite stuffed animals were allowed, though they were all in the basement in the moment (poor Tiger was recovering from a bad bout of fleas). But just as she was about to place Crow, Amber changed her mind. Instead, she carried him with her for the rest of the day, holding him close to her chest as she went to sleep that night.

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><p><strong>LBD: That's all for today, folks! Sorry that was so long, but I promise we'll really get into the story next chapter. There's just something strange about those plushies...<strong>

**As always, leave a comment if you liked it! Or didn't like it, 'cause feedback is good! I'll get the next chapter up as soon as possible. Unless no one reads this, of course... ^-^'**


	2. Chapter 2

**LDB: Welcome back! It's great to be back. *sips tea* Oh this? I'm feeling sick. Must be the weather... *cough***

**Thanks for reading the first chapter! I really appreciate your kindness. I know things are starting a bit slow, but it'll get more exciting later on... I have some fun things in mind later on... *w***

**I apologize it took me so long to update. *sniffle* I actually finished writing this a week ago, but didn't have the time to upload it. The last few weeks of a high school senior are tough...Many tough things to take care of. Trying not to fail! Neraly did last quarter. It's very important to my mother that I graduate.**

**Before you start, may I say that THE DREAM SEQUENCE FORSHADOWS _NOTHING! _That was a serious dream I had, and I felt like sharing it with you all. Now don't you feel special? But I'll stop bugging you...for now.**

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><p>Amber lay there in bed, quietly sleeping with a small puddle of drool next to her mouth. The digital alarm clock on her nightstand read 5:04 AM. On her bed sat seven Yu-Gi-Oh! 5d's plushies, slightly in disarray due to the tossing-and-turning she had been doing 2 o' clock that morning. A small feline head poked itself through the door, which was just wide enough for the cat to walk comfortably through. The two had an unspoken agreement: "You don't open my door more than neccesary while I'm sleeping, and I won't lock you out, okay?" Amber couldn't sleep under bright lights, and her mother insisted they keep the light in the kitchen on at night because her mother couldn't see as well in the dark as Amber.<p>

But as far as Tiger was concerned, now wasn't the time for sleep—it was breakfast time. She slinked over to the twin-sized bed, curiously sniffing and then stepping over the Crow doll (who had been abandoned during the tossing-and-turning), and meowed at the sleeping girl. When she received no response, she jumped on the bed and proceeded to try cuddling with her.

Meanwhile, in Amber's head, she was dreaming something very peculiar. She was on a cruise ship with every single anime crush she ever had—Edward Elric, Kyo Sohma, Allen Walker, Rolo Lamperouge, and many more. But they weren't there to party and relax—Amber was getting married to _another_ anime crush, Yusei Fudo! There were some festivities, but the two love birds decided to wander into the storage area below deck.

The storage deck was half as long and just as wide as the ship itself, and was filled with industrial-sized crates piled high above their heads in semi-neat rows. The two began to wander around when a crate hanging from the ceiling dropped a platform covered in heavy crates, nearly squashing the two!

Meanwhile, outside the dream, Tiger nudged her head against Amber's, purring loudly to wake her up. She continued to do this for several minutes, slowly getting responses from the sleeping brunette.

Back in the dream, the place had started filling up fast with water. Amber and Yusei made a run for the stairs, crates still falling all around them. When they finally made it to the stairs, most everyone on board had figured out what was going on and came to help. When Yusei and Amber reached the exit they were already waist-deep in sea water. Random passengers helped them out while some of the anime crushes used magical powers they didn't have to hold back whatever evil was causing the trouble. The entire ruckus was blamed on [Insert Generic Villian Here], and they returned to the cruise like all was normal.

The cat finally succeeded in nudging Amber out of her dream, and proceeded to nudge her some more with her head while purring. Amber, unable to resist such cuteness in her state of near-conciousness, petted the cat while grunting in protest at being woken up. Tiger continued to nudge Amber with her nose, but despite her best efforts she fell asleep again.

Things were a little different in her dream this time around—she was on the deck again, and there was panic surrounding her. She wasn't sure what was happening, but she began calling for her mother, telling her to get below deck. The sky was stormy, and the ship rocked violently. At this point, everyone was safely below deck except for the girl. Tiger almost brought Amber out of her dream again, and Amber held the cat up to her chest to protect her from the storm.

By this time, Amber was finally able to realize why the cat was really there and that she didn't need protection from a storm. She tried to ignore the cat, but Tiger was too persistent (and cute) to be ignored.

"Alright, I'll feed you." Her voice was thick with sleep. She made two rapid kissing sounds, causing the cat to jump enthusiastically out her arms. Amber sat up with another groan. She followed the cat to the door, accidently stepping on Crow in the process. "Sorry," she mumbled.

_Ah!_ he cried out. _Hey, watch it!_

Amber continued to trudge to the kitchen as if she hadn't heard anything.

_I'm talking to you!_he yelled mentally.

_Crow,_ Bruno started_, I thought we had already decided yesterday she couldn't hear us?  
><em>

_Yeah, so shut up!_Jack added, clearly annoyed.

_Well that doesn't give her the right to STEP on me!  
><em>

_Calm down Crow, she didn't mean it,_ Yusei replied. _Just like she didn't mean to hurt Leo._

_Well, she did!_Leo cried indignantly.

_Now YOU need to calm down, Leo!_Luna stated.

_We all need to calm down and try to figure this out_, Akiza said in a soothing voice.

_I agree with Akiza-  
><em>

_You WOULD agree with her,_ _Yusei,_Jack snapped.

_And what's THAT supposed to mean, Jack?_

The others could feel the heat rising between the two as Jack retorted, _What do you think? You might as well be her boyfriend!_

_Jack, how many times do I have to tell you—_

'_Oh, Jack, she's not my _girlfriend!_ We're just _friends! Jack imitataed in a high, obnoxious voice.

_That's _enough! Yusei shouted, losing his cool for once. _I'm sick and tired of you_—

Yusei was interupted by Crow, who started screaming at Amber again as her foot was about to step on him. She stopped right before her foot squished him and picked him up off the floor, cuddling him and mumbling as she climbed into bed. "I'm sorry…didn't mean it…couldn't see…too tired…" She placed him beside Yusei and reached for Bruno at her feet, cuddling him close to her chest like she had with Crow last night.

Bruno made a few choking noises as she pressed his face up to her not-so-gifted chest. Bruno sputtered before begging, _Please, can someone help me?_

Crow snickered as Akiza replied, a little flustered, _Y-you know we can't do anything Bruno. We're only dolls now._

It was silent as Amber turned over, a dark aura residing over the plushies as Jack and Yusei silently brooded over an argument that would surely have progressed into a fist fight had they been real people again.

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><p>Amber didn't remember much about her graduation ceremony—she had bolted out of bed, dressed quickly, gotten ready, and then waited ten minutesfor her mother to get out of bed and make herself '"presentable" enough to bring her to school. When Amber got there, she threw on her cap and gown before her class ran through the walking exercises none of the graduates understood. At the official graduation, they fumbled through the strange exercises they were put through as family members cheered. Amber received her diploma and watched fellow graduates give speeches. Behind her she could hear parents shedding tears of joy—at least one of them was her mother.<p>

It was a long, harrowing day, and Amber was glad when it was over. Her mother ran up to her and cried, holding Amber like she would never let her go. She patted her mother on the back as they stood there for a few minutes before the woman _finally_ let her go. They got in the car and drove back home to their apartment, but not before stopping at the post office to pick up a shipping box.

Her mother dropped Amber at home before going off to do, well, _something_ (she really didn't want to know how her mother spent her days) as Amber calmly walked through the open door, box in one hand and diploma in the other. She tossed the piece of paper on the table and took the box to her room, setting it on her bed as she sat cross-legged on the matress, looking at the plushies displayed before her. She had decided yesterday that she was going to send some of them to her best friend, Clare. She was an even bigger fan of the show than Amber, and would surely appreciate the gift.

Also, Amber had forgotten to get a gift for Clare on her birthday a few months back. She figured that this would make up for it.

It wasn't the first time she had sent something to Clare via mail—when she really wanted to shock Clare, she would send the gift by mail in orded to surprise her even more.

Amber sighed in embarrasement as she remembered a specific mailing incedent. At a flea market (yes they still exist), she had found the perfect fairy statue for Clare to add to her collection. Amber had bought it and decided to send it to the fairy enthusiast. While she had been packing it up, her turkey sandwhich had mysteriously disappeared. Clare found it a few days later—all wrapped up with her brand new fairy statue. If she was to be believed, the statue had stunk of rotten meat for over a week.

Amber no longer ate while mailing things.

She tugged at the black choker on her neck as she mulled over the plushies. The first one she grabbed was Yusei. Clare loved Yusei like Amber loved Crow, so with a slight grimace she paced him in the box, looking back at the remaining plushies.

She took Crow and put him to the side—Clare certainly wasn't getting _that_. She then picked up Akiza and went to put her in the box, but stopped right as she was about to. She got this strange feeling that if she did put Akiza in there, the signer may not be around much longer. Instead, Amber laid her next to Crow, continuing to mull over the remaining five.

Jack suddenly caught her eye, and she scowled back at him. It was then decided that Jack was going—she couldn't stand the prick. As she picked him up, Carly caught Amber's eye this time. Amber smiled. She put them both on her lap and pondered the remaining plushies.

All that was left was Bruno and the twins. She had already decided that she was sending Clare four plushies, but she wasn't sure which one to send. She really wanted to keep Bruno, but that would mean separating the twins, who usually came in a pair. Also, it didn't feel right for her to send Leo when Amber had damaged him.

An idea struck Amber. She got off her bed and grabbed her little red cell phone from the kitchen and brought it to her bedroom. Tiger woke up from her position on the couch and followed Amber, climbing into her lap and meowing for food.

"I'll feed you soon, I promise," she said, kising the cat on her head while petting the purring creature. She lined Buno, Leo, and Luna all in a row in that order and searched for Clare's number. When she found it, she pressed the call button. The line rang four times before she heard a pause, followed by Clare's slightly exasperated voice.

"Hey, what's up? It's been awhile."

"Say, Clare, wanna do me a favor?"

She paused briefly before asking, "Sure. What kind of favor?"

"Pick a number one through three."

"Huh?"

Amber sighed. "Just do it."

Clare paused before concluding, "Three, I guess. But why—"

Amber hung up the phone before Clare could finish the question. She smiled and grabbed Luna, the third in the line, and threw her, Carly, and Jack in a pile on top of Yusei. She made a double kissing noise as her cat followed her to the feline's food bowl, which was then filled with cat food. Amber dug through the closet and found some packing tape to close the box with. She sealed the box, wrote Clare's address, and in a moment of spotaniety added "Mysterious Box Number 2" before putting it beside the door to deliver to the post office tomorrow. She couldn't wait to see Clare's reaction to the present.

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><p><strong>Did you enjoy it? I hope so! Sister of the Pharoah and I appreciate all the comments you made. Feeling your love encourages me to march ahead with a burning passion! *achoo!* Oh, excuse me. I would like to acknowledge a few things, if you don't mind:<strong>

**1) I don't usually update this late. I had too much on my plate to dedicate myself to the story.**

**2) I got requests to do both a YuseixOC story AND a CrowxOC story. Funny thing is...I was actually planning on writing some of those o.o Only problem is, the last episode came along and screwed up EVERYTHING I was planning so...Yeah. No story for you! I do have plans to write them (revising them to align properly with the canon storyline), but it won't be fore a bit. This isn't the only story I'm writing, you know.**

**3) For you pesky people, I'm putting a cute little section in my profile dedicated to recording my progress in the stories I am writing. Feel free to check it out, if ya like.**

**4) Chapter 3 is up! SOTP wrote it. From now on, I plan on having us write alternating chapters, so she'll write the odd chapters and I'll write the evens.**

**5) I like to incorporate real things that have happened to me to bring a new life to my stories. For example, the dream is one I've had (as I already mentioned) and the cat is based on my own. Why? Because my cat is more interesting than your cat, that's why. :P Someday, you will all learn about the skylight...**

**So, I will get working on chapter 4 as soon as possible! Unless, of course, nobody reads this...**


	3. Chapter 3

Clare's POV:

I was sitting at my computer, looking at my e-mail when I heard the door bell. I went to answer it and found a package that was addressed to me from a friend who lived across town. I brought it in, grabbed a pair of scissors from the kitchen and took it to my room.

"Okay Clare, let's what crazy gift you got sent to you this time," I said to myself as I cut the tape and pulled back the flaps of the box. I then began to squeal like a fan girl at what I had received.

"NO WAY! I had no idea they made these! Awesome!"

Inside, I found what I thought to be the cutest Yugioh 5d's plushies I had ever seen. Whoever made them got the details just right, for the looked just like the real characters would if they were chibi's. I pulled each of them out, one by one and called them by their names.

"Okay, first we have Carly. Coke bottle frames with camera and all! Next we have Jack Atlas. Hmph, Jack 'ass' is more like it. But I guess someone has to put up with him, and since I can't seem to find Crow in here anywhere, I guess that someone's gonna have to be me."

I took the two of them and placed Jack on one end of my book self, then placed Carly next to my computer. For some reason though, it felt as if Jack seemed to be glaring at me. I shrugged it off and then pulled the other plushies from the box.

"Ohh cool! This one's Luna! But it doesn't look like Leo's in here. Hmm, those two are supposed to be a pair. Oh well, I guess I can always look for one online.

"Now then, anyone else in here?" I asked as I dug around the box and pulled out the last one, which really turned on my fan girl switch. It was Yusei, he had his duel disk with a deck holder belt and every thing. I held him close and spun around until I fell on my bed in excitement. Before I had noticed it was 8 PM and I had plans to hit the mall tomorrow, so I went to the bath room and changed into my PJ's. I came back out a few moments later and picked Luna up off the floor.

"There, at least you won't be lonely." I told the pigtailed plushie as I sat her next to my fairy statue collation."I'm sure glad I didn't get Akiza. Not that I have anything against her, but this way I get to have you all to myself," I said to Yusei. I held him close to my chest again before I placed him on my bedside table and crawled into bed for the night.

"Sweet dreams guys!" I told my new plush friends as I turned off the lamp and fell asleep.

Third person POV:

Clare awoke to the sound of breaking glass at midnight that came from the kitchen. She quickly jumped out of bed to see what had happened and stood in the door way in shock at what she was seeing. Dragon like creatures, emitting a dark aura and wearing some kind of black armor had entered her house. One of them immediately grabbed Clare by throat, slamming her against the wall. His horrid breath made Clare sick to her stomach while she struggled to breath.

"YOU! You are the maiden whose destiny is tied to that of the signer of stars...WHERE ARE THE VESSELS THAT HOLD HIS AND THE OTHER SIGNERS SOULS?"

"W-what are y-you, talking a-about? Wh-ho are y-you?"

"DON'T PLAY DUMB!" The creature roared as he threw Clare into kitchen cabinet doors. Clare moaned in pain as she tried to get up, but the monster kicked her in the stomach. He was about to grab her by the neck again to finish her off when a shining light mixed of white and blue attacked the monster, making him and the other creatures vanish into dust. As Clare was fading in and out consciousness, she looked up to see where the light had come from.

A figure she knew all too well came into view. A young man about eighteen with cobalt blue eyes that matched the midnight colored sky, stared at her in determination. Clare couldn't believe her eyes. There, standing before her, was none other that her fantasy crush, Yusei Fudo. He held Clare in his strong arms. He whispered to her in a calm, soothing voice.

"Are you okay?" Clare nodded slowly, having a hard time taking in all of this at once. Clare drifted back to sleep, thinking all that just happened was a dream as Yusei carried her bridal style back to her bed...

The next morning Clare woke up to find the Yusei plushie in her arms and kitchen window that broke was fixed completely. Clare knew that with as much anime as she watched something was going on. It was obvious that her friend who sent her these plushies had a lot of explaining to do...


	4. Chapter 4

**It's done! NOW READ! (Uploaded twice to do some editing.)**

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><p>Amber walked into Cafe La Coco with Crow on her hip. Clare had called her up this morning telling her that they needed to talk, so they had set up a meeting at the usual place. It was a quaint little cafe, with waitresses dressed in cute outfits and a pastel color theme that was almost, but not quite, tacky. It was almost-tacky enough that, for some strange reason, it worked. She seated herself at the booth in the corner beside the window, gently dismissing the waitress who came up to take her order. Amber had arrived at the cafe ten minutes early, and watched pedestrians and cars pass by, most without a single glance towards the business.<p>

Clare came running in at 4:58 (at least that's what the cat shaped clock on the far wall said) and dashed over to their typical seating spot, panting heavily. "Oh God, I am SO sorry I'm late."

Amber looked at her curiously. "What are you talking about? You're just on time."

Clare turned her head towards Amber, incredulous. "What do you mean? I thought we had aranged to meet here at 4:30!"

"No, we were meeting at five today." She continued to stare out the window, resting her chin on her hand. "You mixed up the times again, didn't you?"

The exhausted woman hit her head on the table, refusing to comment. Suddenly remembering why she was there, she put Yusei up on the table (she had been keeping him in her purse) and looked intently at Amber. "Listen, there's something really important I have to tell you... Hey, you feeling alright?" she asked, noticing the heavy look in Amber's eyes.

"Yeah," she replied. "Just the D."

Clare reached out to touch Amber's hand, the concern plain on her face. "You've been taking the medication, right?"

Amber sighed heavily, the mask she usually wore dropping to show how she really felt: sad. She finally looked Clare in the face, giving a small smile as she placed Crow next to Yusei on the table top. "Yeah, but the doctor said that the anti-depressants might not kick in for another week or so. I'll survive." She tried to comfort Clare with a bigger smile, but they both knew she could see right through it to the sadness in her heart. They had been friends too long for Amber to be able to fool Clare like that.

"Listen, if you ever need to talk, you know I'm here for you." She squeezed Amber's hand tightly.

Amber sighed, giving another weak smile. "Thanks." Wanting to change the subject, she said to Clare, "So what was it you wanted to talk to me about so desperatly?"

Clare turned her head towards the two plushies then looked back at Amber and pointed to them with her index finger.

"Those plushies, where exactly did you get them?" Amber looked at Clare with questioning look on her face before turning her head to look at Crow.

"I don't know. They just showed up on my door step the other day. Why?" Clare then told Amber about the strange dream with the dragon like creatures and how Yusei had saved her. Blushing as she finish her story. Amber then looked at Clare like she just grew two heads.

"Clare, exactly what have you been eating before going to bed?"

"I know, the story sounds crazy! Felt so real though, maybe I'm just nuts." Clare said as she sipped some of her chocolate shake. Mean while, Yusei told Crow the same story and the both knew exactly what was going on.

_Must be those guys that made us like this. Why do you think they're going after these two_? Crow asked as he noticed Amber went to the bathroom.

Then a waitress came, delivering a slice of cheesecake that Clare ordered. As she began to eat, the piece on her fork ended up landing on Crows head.

_Oh come on, give me a break! _Crow said asClare picked him up, took a napkin and cleaned off the cheesecake bits in Crows hair. She then looked at him and smiled softly at seeing him all clean.

"Sorry about that Crow, I'll try to be more careful when a have a sweet attack. Heh heh." She then put Crow back down next to Yusei and continued with her treat.

_She's awful nice. She seems to like you best Yusei_. Crow said as Amber came back and sat down.  
><em><br>__Yeah, and she's talented too. She's drawn each of us and they look really well done._

_How do you know that?_

_She showed me her sketch book last night before the attack. There's a lot pictures of me too._

_Sounds like she's gotta crush on ya._

_Maybe, but I can't help feeling like Amber's not the only one with issues._Yusei said as he noticed Clare turned to look at him and smiled softly, making Yusei blush slightly when she wasn't looking.

_Looks like you gotta crush on her too man! And I thought Akiza had your heart by the strings!_

_For the last time Crow, I don't like Akiza that way. And Clare's just really nice is all. Besides, this isn't the time for this.__  
><em>

_Yeah sure, but what did you mean by her having issues. I don't see how anything is worse than Amber's depression._

_Clare was making small noises, while she was about to go to sleep. She was flipping the light switch on and off three times and telling something to leave her alone._

_What do you think that could be?_

_"I don't know," _Yusei said before the two plushies were put in their respectful owners' purses. The two girls headed to the arcade.

As the two girls left the building, Amber poked Clare teasingly in the side. "I bet you stayed up all night watching a horror movie.'

"You know i cant stand those," Clare stated, annoyed.

"Scary novel?"

"Don't like those either." She shoved her hands in her pockets.

"Scaaary encounter with a dachschaund puppy?"

"Oh, don't you DARE bring that up again," Clare warned. "I swear to you, that thing was evil."

Amber shrugged. "Seemed to like me."

''Thats because youre evil too." They both laughed. "I bet the two of you control the bowels of hell together." Amber laughed evily in response.

"Maybe you're finally going senile," she joked.

"No, I'm NOT. I just know something's up." They paused as they waited to cross a busy intersection. "That dream was too real."

"Then how do you explain the broken window?"

Clare looked slightly puzzled. "My window's not broken."

"_Exactly_,' Amber concluded as they walked into the arcade. It was one of the few still in business. She patted Clare's back as Amber recited, "No squealing—" she pointed at her own skull "—remember that it's all in your head." She winked to finish the job. "We're both screwed up."

"Hey, dont go making random Gorillaz references at me," Clare joked.

"You should be glad they're not real."

Clare had to trot to keep up with Amber as the girl spotted her favorite machine—Dance Dance Revolution. "Why do you say that?"

"Did you get dressed in front of them?" Amber wiggled her eyebrows.

Clare blushed as she caught Amber's implication. They watched as two kids went against each other in ultimate mode. Clare could barely make out their feet as they flailed on the machine. However, she knew that if anyone would be self-concious of watching eyes, it would be Amber. She had to flip over magazines when she dressed because she said 'I dont like it when they stare at me. It's creepy. I feel like theyre watching, laughing.'

Clare sighed. She knew a bit about that.

"And besides," Amber continued, pulling Crow out of her purse and holding him at arms length. "If they saw the wierd crap we do at home alone, they'd probably freak. Remember the first time i saw you doing the light switching thing?" They both giggled at the now-distant memory. "I totally freaked on you because i couldnt sleep with the light on." Amber had been 7, and Clare 12. She hadn't understood Clare's condition at the time, but everything is funnier in retrospect.

"You know i cant help it," Clare pouted.

Amber responded with an "Of course" as they both stepped onto the empty dance machine and dropped in their quarters.

Meanwhile, Crow and Yusei had been having their own conversation. Despite the ridiculous volume of the DDR machine, they could still hear each other perfectly even as they were placed direrectly in front of the girls (and the speakers) as the women chose their difficulties.

_Crow, have you seen them?_

_…Yeah, I have._ Song samples blared into their fiber ears as they watched the dark figures flitting in and out of the shadows of the dimly-lit arcade. The people scattered about the dark room filled with bright, colorful screens seemed oblivious to the shifting shadows. _They must be more of those creatures—_

Crow and Yusei were both startled by the sound of Amber screaming in delight, followed by sounds of disgust from Clare.

Clare began to panic as Amber reached for the buttons. "No, don't you dare—"

She slammed on them both as Clare reached out to grab Amber. The screen flashed to balck as they were thrust into the first stage.

"Dammit, Amber, you know I hate this song!"

"So why don't you just _quit?_" Amber stuck her tongue out at Clare.

"Oh HELL no. Bitch is going DOWN!" Clare declared as the word "START!" flashed across the screen. Both glared intensely at the screen, Amber with excitement and Clare with determination, as they both stompd their feet in rhythm to the high-energy pop music.

The boys chuckled at the scene unfolding before them. _She's a lot more energetic outside the house, don't you think?_ Yusei asked, referring to Amber.

_Tell me about it. This is a lot better than the moping she does at home._

A moment of frantic flailing was followed by a scream of "YES!" from Clare as the screen displayed her as the victor. She did a small victory dance on the podium.

Amber pouted at Clare. "If I hadn't fumbled that streak at the bridge, I would have _creamed_ you."

"I'd like to see you try," Clare boasted.

"Oh, bitch is going DOWN!" Amber cried, referring to an old inside joke. Clare quickly scrolled through the choices and found a song that Amber despised. Clare slammed the buttons before Amber could react.

After more flailing, Amber and Clare finished the next two rounds, the outcome being a tie as they both cursed for failing the last stage. They laughed it off and grabbed a water bottle before going their separate ways, waving to each other as Amber stepped onto the bus.

She took Crow out of her purse and smiled at him, saying, "Well, that was a nice day, wasn't it?"

She didn't wait for a reply as she took out earbuds and put them in her ear, playing Hollywood Undead's "Hear Me Now".

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><p><strong>Did you enjoy it? Good. In the next chapter I write, I plan on introducing another 5ds character you may be familiar with. Aww yeah, that's right, I'm introducing—wait, why am I telling you this? I enjoy torturing you people! You'll just have to wait for the chapter 6 to find out! :3<strong>

**I hope you all feel better than I do!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Sister of Pharaoh: Hey guys! I'm Sister of the Pharaoh and I'm helping my friend lildragonbabe with this great story we're writing together! I hope you all like this so far that you enjoy this next chapter!**

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><p>Clare and Amber parted ways after the arcade to head home. On the way, Clare suddenly felt hungry and stopped at a chilidog stand for some late dinner. As she waited for her order, she felt someone behind her push her to the ground, flat on her face.<p>

She picked herself up and looked to see a boy with short dark hair and green eyes with a smirk on his face. Clare knew he was responsible for pushing her to the floor, since this wasn't the first time this had happened when he was around.

"That dirt should be better for your diet, you fat ass freak!" the boy said as he and others around him laughed. Yusei wanted nothing more than to punch the guy in the face, while Clare just stood and then left without her order. Tears began to run down her face as the boy called after her.

"You better run! We don't need trash like you stuttering to confused people like us, who can actually talk!"

Clare started to breathe in a rhythmic pattern as she continued to run towards her house. She went in, locked the door and walked into her room. She then pulled Yusei out of her purse and set him on her table next to her bed. She then threw herself on her bed and cried in the pillow.

After about five minutes, she picked up Yusei and held him above her as a mother would an infant.

"Sorry about that Yusei. I didn't mean to cry like a baby. You must think I'm a loser!" she said with a laugh, but Yusei could easily see the sadness in Clare's eyes.

She then grabbed a photo album off the shelf and showed it to Yusei as she flipped through the pictures. She stopped at one when she was little in the back yard with Amber. She was wearing a pink dress and loving on a Sonic the Hedgehog plushie, holding onto him for dear life with a big

smile on her face.

"That's me when I was ten. It was my birthday and my dad got me a Sonic the Hedgehog plushie as a gift. I was obsessed with him back then."

Clare then skipped a few pages ahead to a picture of her and the same boy that pushed her earlier together. He had his arm around her in the picture while she held up a peace sign.

"That's Trent. He used to be my boyfriend until half a year ago. I never told Amber this, but he broke up with me cause of my OCD. That's short for obsessive compulsive disorder. I thought that if I told him I had this disorder, that he would still accept me like Amber did, but he just stared at me with a disgusted look on his face. Then he turned away from me and said that he didn't want anybody who was less than perfect."

Clare began to cry again and pushed Yusei away from her along with the album as she laid her face in her folded her arms. Yusei could see that Clare had gone through almost the same thing as Akiza: being rejected simply because of something that she couldn't control.

Yusei then felt the same thing happen to him that did last night. A bright glow surrounded him and he once again assumed his human form. Clare didn't notice anything happening until she felt a gentle hand lay on her head. She sat up and gasped at the site in front of her. There, sitting on her bed, was Yusei Fudo. Clare, to say the least, was floored as she gazed at Yusei.

"Yusei, it's really you. So, I guess that last night wasn't a dream huh?" she asked as Yusei shook his head and wiped a tear from her face.

"No Clare, this isn't dream. I'm the real Yusei Fudo, and I just heard everything you told me."

Clare sat there in shock. Not completely sure if the man in front her was real as he said, or if this was just something she made up to comfort her in her time of need. Yusei then held out his hand and motioned for Clare to shake with him.

"Here, I'll prove it to you, take my hand." Yusei said with a small smile on his face.

Clare slowly reached out her hand to Yusei's and was surprised to feel the leather of the glove on his hand. She was given an even bigger surprise as Yusei pulled her into his arms. Clare thought she really was dreaming as Yusei put one hand on Clare's back and ran the other through her short light brown hair.

"That guy was wrong. I could tell you still care for him because otherwise I doubt you would have up with what he did. You don't need to hold on to him anymore Clare. You're better without him."

Clare sobbed hard as Yusei sat on the bed and put his arms around her, holding her as she cried her heart out to the misplaced soul. All the dolls in the room, Jack, Carly, and Luna, let off an air of sympathy for Clare. They had all inexplicably bonded with her—even after spending only a day with the girl.

Clare and Yusei huddled together on the bed as he waited for her to calm. Clare had her arms wrapped around Yusei's waist as he spoke low and calm to her, keeping a wary eye on the window. Although he couldn't see out into the darkness beyond, he could sense the dark agents swarming outside, lured in by the sadness leaking from Clare's heart.

Yusei closed his eyes. The Mark of the Crimson Dragon told him that Akiza was also in human form, keeping the darkness at bay. He knew from Amber's reaction that she hadn't found out yet, so they would all try to keep it from her as long as possible. The less attached they became to each other, the easier it would be when it was time to return to New Domino City.

But that didn't mean that Yusei couldn't comfort Clare in her time of need. Clare was kind enough to take care of them, and in return they would help take care of her.

As Clare's sobs were reduced to sniffles, Yusei loosened his hold around Clare's shoulders and looked her in the eyes. "Feeling better now?" Clare's response was to nod as she tried to wipe the dribble off her face. "You're better than him, Clare. You deserve so much better than a jerk like him."

The look on Clare's face told him she wasn't so sure. Before she could protest, Yusei cupped her chin and made her look up at him. She blushed at the skin contact, but gave a silent gasp as she looked into his eyes—

It was like looking into the essence of star light, as warm as the sun itself.

"Listen to me, Clare. "You're beautiful. Don't give me that look! You're kind and smart, and a wonderful artist. So you aren't perfect. _No one is_. And anyone who looks for that is superficial and does not deserve someone as wonderful as you."

Clare closed her eyes and wiped away the tears threatening to spill out again. Yusei reached over the bedside table and grabbed a box of tissues, which she gladly accepted. As she wiped off her face, Yusei put his hand gently on her shoulder. "It's getting late. You should go to bed."

Clare nodded again. Yusei stood up and made to leave, but stopped as he reached the door to look at Clare.

"One more thing. Don't tell Amber about this." Clare sniffled. "It's better if she doesn't find out."

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><p><strong>LDB: It's all my fault it's late! I'm sorry! I wrote the second half of the chapter, and it's been done for over a week, but…I was just too lazy. I didn't type it up until today, over fear that big sis might kick my butt. Not fun x3<strong>

**SOTP and I just want to thank everyone for all the favorites, follows, and reviews you left. It's amazing! We love you! **_**I**_** love you! Thank you!**

**I won't be writing chapter 6 until I update another story that is long overdue an update. It needs one **_**very**_** badly. But in the meantime, if it's not too much, I have a request for all you lovely people out there.**

**I'm an avid fan of Yusei and Crow. I also do not believe we have enough lemons in the YGO5Ds fanfiction archive. So, please, for my 18 birthday on July 18, write a YuseixCrow fanfic! Preferably a lemon! I would greatly appreciate it and love you for it! And thank you to those who have followed us through since the first chapter! Free plushies for all of you! *Throws 5ds plushies everywhere* Have one!**


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